☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
The
Burmese Harp (1956) – K. Ichikawa
Often moving tale of a Japanese regiment
at the end of WWII that surrenders to the British in Burma. This company is different because of their
fondness for singing (often “Home Sweet Home” in Japanese, which is used for
sentimental purposes but still evokes wistfulness). One of their number, Mizushima, is nominated
to encourage another Japanese platoon, holed up in a mountain fortress, to
finally surrender – however, they disbelieve that the war is over and are
killed by the Brits. Mizushima himself
is injured but resuscitated back to life by a Buddhist monk. Mizushima steals this monk’s garb to make the
journey back to join his regiment but the horrors that he sees (scores of
unburied bodies) and remembers lead him to take a vow to stay in Burma as a
real monk to make certain that all the bodies are buried. His old squad members cannot understand.
Ichikawa makes excellent use of location shooting in Burma, often showing his
characters nearly hidden in the landscape (suggesting the enormity of the
situation in which they are engulfed). Some
say this film ignored the real war crimes committed in Burma but it is
assuredly pacifist and anti-war.
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